Automatic paper feeding mechanism and automatic paper feeding device

ABSTRACT

An automatic paper feeding mechanism and an automatic paper feeding device incorporating the mechanism are provided that enable a stack of document sheets to be automatically fed into a shredder by at least one disk-shaped claw member in lots of a specified maximum number of sheets for shredding by the shredder, simply by setting the stack in the paper feeder. The automatic paper feeding mechanism is adapted to be supplied with rotational power by a shredder nit having intermeshed cutting blades for supplying paper sheets to the shredder unit in lots of two or more. It is equipped on at least one side face of a paper feed roller of a paper feeding section with a disk-shaped claw member formed with sharp portions for automatically supplying paper sheets to the shredder unit under piercing.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an automatic paper feeding mechanism and an automatic paper feeding device that are capable of simultaneously feeding multiple paper sheets, particulars to an automatic paper feeding mechanism and automatic paper feeding device equipped with at least one disk-shaped claw member having sharp portions for enabling simultaneous feeding of multiple paper sheets while piercing the paper sheets.

2. Description of Related Art

In order to prevent information theft, the practice in recent years is not to simply discard documents as they are but to dispose of them after cutting them into fine pieces with a shredder or other such cutting apparatus. Although the performance of shredders has improved considerably and many are now capable of fie shredding, a problem remains in that the number of sheets that can be shredded at one time is limited. Shredders marketed to date require the user to manually insert a single sheet or up to a manufacturer-specified maximum number of sheets into the shredder slot, so that the user must stay at the shredder throughout the shredding operation, which may be quite long when shredding a large number of sheets

This led the assignee to develop the Shredder with Paper Feeder and Paper Feeder set out in Japanese Patent Application No. 2006-24484. The paper feeder described in this application can automatically feed sheets into a shredder in lots of two or more. It is configured so that the paper sheets are fed into the shredder both under their own weight and by the action of a roller provided at a downstream location. In shredder applications, however, it is possible to utilize a still more reliable feeder mechanism of a different structure by taking advantage of the fact that paper sheets to be shredded do not require protection against damage in the course of feeding.

Therefore, to meet the need for optimal paper feeding reliability, the assignee moved forward with the development of an automatic paper feeding mechanism and automatic paper feeding device whose paper feeding section is equipped with at least one disk-shaped claw member having sharp portion,s for enabling forcible paper sheet feeding.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is therefore to provide al automatic paper feeding mechanism and an automatic paper feeding device that enable a stack of document sheets to be automatically fed into a shredder by disk-shaped claw members in lots of a specified maximum number of sheets for shredding by the shredder, simply by setting the stack in the paper feeder.

The present invention achieves the foregoing object by providing an automatic paper feeding mechanism and an automatic paper feeding device incorporating the mechanism, which automatic paper feeding mechanism is adapted to be supplied with rotational power by a shredder unit having intermeshed cutting blades for supplying paper sheets to the shredder unit in lots of two or more, the automatic paper feeding mechanism being equipped on at least one side face of a paper feed roller of a paper feeding section with a disk-shaped claw member formed with sharp portions for automatically supplying paper sheets to the shredder unit under piercing. The disk-shaped claw member is formed with the sharp portions directed along its outer peripheral edge. In one aspect of the invention, the disk-shaped claw member has the sharp portions formed thereon to lie substantially perpendicular to the peripheral edge thereof.

The present invention also provides an automatic paper feeding device including a body, a paper feeding mechanism and a paper delivery outlet, wherein the automatic paper feeding mechanism comprises

a paper feeding tray on which paper sheets to be shredded are set and held; a first unit axially mounted on a shaft extending between opposite inner faces of the device and including a roller mounted substantially at the middle of the paper feeding tray that rotates to push paper from above to ensure reliable feeding, at least one disk-shaped claw member fitted on the roller, a first gear fitted on the roller, and a second gear engaged with the first gear; and

a second unit (gear unit) equipped with a third gear engaged with the second gear and a second roller.

The automatic paper feeding device can optionally be equipped with its own power source for transmitting power to the second unit.

Owing to the foregoing configuration, the automatic paper feeding mechanism and automatic paper feeding device according to the present invention offer the following advantageous features:

-   1. Owing to the provision of the disk-shaped claw members formed     with the sharp portions for piercing and feeding paper at a single     location of a roller provided in the automatic paper feeding device,     paper sheets can be forcibly transported. -   2. Owing to the formation of the sharp portions along the outer     peripheral face of the disk-shaped claw members to point in the     rotational direction thereof, paper sheets can be reliably pierced     and transported. -   3. Owing to the formation of the sharp portions to lie perpendicular     to the peripheral edge of the disk-shaped claw member, the     disk-shaped claw member can be fabricated by a simple shaping     process. -   4. An automatic paper feeding device capable of reliably     transporting paper sheets can be obtained by incorporating the     automatic paper feeding mechanism into a paper feeding device. -   5. The paper feeder can be equipped with its own power source and     operated as an independent unit.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the roller section of an automatic paper feeding mechanism.

FIG. 2 is a side view of a disk-shaped claw, member.

FIG. 3 is a side view of another disk-shape claw member.

FIG. 4 is structural view of an automatic paper feeding device.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The automatic paper feeding mechanism and automatic paper feeding device according to the present invention will now he explained with reference to embodiments shown in the drawing.

As shown m FIG. 1 the automatic paper feeding mechanism designated 10, comprises a power transmission section 20, roller 30 and disk-shaped claw members 40.

In this embodiment, the power transmission section 20 transmits power from a shredder unit (not shown) and drives an automatic paper feeding section. It is comprised mainly of a group of gears and operates to transmit shredder unit power for the end purpose of rotating the roller 30. Although this embodiment is configured to rotate the roller 30 by power transmitted from the shredder unit, it is alternatively possible to provide the paper feeding device equipped with the automatic paper feeding mechanism 10 with its own power source.

The roller 30 is a cylindrical member rotated by power supplied mom the power transmission section 20 and is equipped on one or both ends with disk-shaped claw members 40 having sharp portions 42.

In this embodiment, the at least one disk-shaped claw member 40 either has sharp portions 42 a formed along its outer peripheral face to point in the direction of rotation of the disk-shaped claw member 40 or, as shown in FIG. 3, has sharp portions 42 b formed to lie perpendicular to its peripheral edge. In the configuration having the sharp portions 42 a along the outer peripheral face, the provision of the disk-shaped claw member 40 to point in the direction of rotation enables paper sheets to be reliably fed forward by rotation of the roller 30 because the sharp portions 42 a of the disk-shaped claw member 40 pierce the paper sheets. On the other hand, in the configuration having the sharp portions 42 b formed to lie substantially perpendicular to the peripheral edge of the disk-shaped claw member 40, the perpendicular orientation enables the sharp portions 42 b to pierce the paper sheets from any angle, whereby even disorderly arranged paper sheets can be reliably transported.

The automatic paper feeding mechanism 10 according to the present invention can be used as mounted on the shredder unit by, as shown in FIG. 4, incorporating it into an automatic paper feeding device 12 comprising a body 50 and a paper deliver y outlet 60.

The automatic paper feeding mechanism 10 incorporated in the automatic paper feeding device 12 comprises a paper feeding tray 70, and a first unit 80 and second unit (gear wit) 90 shown in FIG. 1.

The paper feeding tray 70 is a standby location where multiple paper sheets are placed while waiting to be fed forward by the roller 30. Since the automatic paper feeding device 12 is structured to transport sheets by the disk-shaped claw members 40 of the roller 30, the angle at which the paper sheets are set is not critical so tat the paper feeding tray 70 can be given a horizontal orientation if desired. In addition, the paper feeding tray 70 is formed with holes 72 (only one shown) to ensure reliable rotation of the disk-shaped claw member 40 and reliable piercing and transport of paper sheets.

The first unit 80 is mounted on a shaft 82 extending between opposite inner faces of the device and includes the roller 30 that is mounted substantially at the middle of the paper feeding tray 70 and rotates to push paper from above to ensure reliable feedings. It further comprises a first gear 84 fitted on the roller 30 and a second gear 86 engaged with the first gear 84. Paper transport is conducted by the roller 30 and the disk-shaped claw members 40 fitted on the roller 30.

The second unit 90 includes a third gear 92 that engages the second gear 86 and a second roller 94 for transporting paper sheets. The third gear 92 is joined to the second roller 94 so that when the third gear 92 rotates the second roller 94 rotates simultaneously to transport paper sheets.

When a stack of paper sheets is placed in the automatic paper feeding device of the present invention, the paper sheets are lifted and tilted into contact with the roller 30 by an elastic body (not shown) provided on the rear surface of the paper feeding tray 70. Although not shown in detail in the drawings, when the shredder unit goes into operation, the gears of the power transmission section 20 rotate the shaft 82 so that power is transmitted to the roller 30 through the first unit 80 and the second unit 90. Owing to the resulting rotation of the disk-shaped claw members 40 fitted on the roller 30, the sharp portions 42 a pierce the paper sheets and forcibly transport them in the direction of the shredder unit together with the rotation of the roller. At this time, the paper sheets are not transported individually but can be transported in lots of two or more. The number of paper sheets m each transported lot can be regulated by changing the size of the sharp portions formed on the disk-shaped claw member.

The automatic paper feeding mechanism and automatic paper feeding device of the present invention are equipped with claws formed by providing sharp portions on a roller and forcibly transport paper sheets by pricking them with the sharp portions. Owing to this configuration, the paper sheets can be transported more reliably than is possible in a conventional automatic paper feeding device that transports paper sheets solely by the force of a roller. 

1. All automatic paper feeding mechanism for use with a shredder having intermeshed cutting blades and adapted to be supplied with rotational power by the shredder so as to supply paper sheets to the shredder, which paper feeding mechanism is equipped on at least one side face of a paper feed roller of a paper feeding section with a disk-shaped claw member formed with sharp portions for automatically supplying paper sheets to the shredder under piercing.
 2. The paper feeding mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the disk-shaped claw member has the sharp portions formed along its outer peripheral edge.
 3. The automatic paper feeding mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the disk-shaped claw member has the sharp portions formed thereon to lie substantially perpendicular to the peripheral edge thereof
 4. An automatic paper feeding device including a body, a paper feeding mechanism and a paper delivery outlet, wherein the automatic paper feeding mechanism comprises: a paper feeding tray on which paper sheets to be shredded are set and held; a first unit axially mounted on a shaft extending between opposite inner faces of the device and including a roller mounted substantially at the middle of the paper feeding tray that rotates to push paper from above to ensure reliable feeding, at least one disk-shaped claw member fitted on the roller, a first gear fitted on the roller, and a second gear engaged with the first gear; and a second unit (gear unit) equipped with a third gear engaged with the second gear and a second roller.
 5. The automatic paper feeding device according to claim 4, further comprising a power source for transmitting power to the second gear to enable of the paper feeding device to operate under its own power. 